How long can you take it?
by Karategurl
Summary: Very messed up, based on the 5th Harry Potter book. Please review!
1. Default Chapter

~Hey guys, I just randomly got the idea for a Harry Potter fic at like, 9:45 at night. This is based to book number 5, which I actually have no idea what happens, so I'm just wingin' it, really! Go easy on me!~  
  
It felt good to be back at the train station, away from the Dursleys, going back to  
  
Hogwarts, Harry thought to himself. He, Ron, and Hermione were boarding the train. As  
  
Harry put his trunk away, he happened to glance out the window. There was a girl he'd  
  
never seen before, staring blankly into space, as if she had no idea what was going on.  
  
Harry pointed this out to Ron and Hermione.  
  
"She must be new," Ron said, not much interested. He gave an owl treat to  
  
Pigwidgeon, who promptly spat it at Crookshanks, causing the cat to leap into the air,  
  
yowling. Harry paid no attention and said, "I'm gonna see if she needs help," and  
  
climbed off the train.  
  
"He's crazy," Ron muttered, picking Pig's owl treat up off the floor and throwing  
  
it out the window at Malfoy, who happened to be passing by. He cheered when the treat  
  
nailed Malfoy in the head.  
  
Harry approached the girl and asked, "Need any help?"  
  
The girl, startled, jumped a bit. Seeing Harry, she frowned and said, "Hell no! I  
  
can find my way just fine without a gajillion people askin' me if I need help!"  
  
Harry didn't flinch. He decided to ignore this, and not get angry. He noticed the  
  
girl's accent right away.  
  
"Are you foreign?" he asked.  
  
"Gee, what gave you THAT impression?" The girl crossed her arms and pouted a  
  
bit. "Every idiot comes and asks me if I'm foreign."  
  
"Where are you from?" Harry wanted to know.  
  
"The States," she said. "America. The U.S."  
  
Harry was impressed, although he didn't show it. He had a feeling that she might  
  
not take it so well.  
  
"What's your name?" he asked.  
  
"Marie."  
  
"Are you sure you don't need any help? You can sit with me and my friends if  
  
you want." Harry had no idea why he was offering to let her sit with them, but he soon  
  
found himself on the train, sitting across from Marie and Hermione. They were chatting  
  
like old friends. Marie had, apparently, brought a whole trunk full of books with her.  
  
"I love to read," Marie told Hermione, as the train started moving. "But I like  
  
fiction. History is plain boring."  
  
"I like history," Hermione said. "But fiction is okay, too."  
  
Harry and Ron talked for a while about Quidditch, until Marie interrupted them.  
  
"I love Quidditch!" she cried. "I play Keeper, myself."  
  
"Oh joy," Ron muttered.  
  
"Gryffindor needs a new Keeper," Harry told her. Marie smiled brightly.  
  
"I'm tryin' out, then!"  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Ron shouted, who didn't like Marie at all. Who knew why?  
  
"I'M going to be Keeper this year!"  
  
"We don't even know what house Marie is in," Hermione said sensibly. "Either  
  
one of you could be Keeper. Why does it even matter, Ron? You haven't been on the  
  
house team before."  
  
"I heard Katie was quitting the team," Harry said quickly. "Ron, you could play  
  
Chaser, right?"  
  
Ron just snarled and sat down, all the while glaring at Marie. He didn't get to  
  
glare for long, because Malfoy strode in at that moment. Crabbe and Goyle were,  
  
surprisingly, absent. He didn't seem to care.  
  
"What have we here?" he asked, grinning smugly. "You must be new." He was  
  
referring to Marie. She shook her head.  
  
"Nope. I've just been invisible."  
  
Malfoy raised his eyebrow. Marie groaned and muttered, "You English people  
  
have no sense of humor."  
  
Malfoy sized her up for a minute, then snarled, "You're a Mudblood, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes I am. What're you gonna do about it?"  
  
Everyone gasped. Marie reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a wand.  
  
Aiming it directly at Malfoy's face, she said in a quiet, dangerous voice, "Get out now, or  
  
I'll kill you."  
  
Malfoy laughed. "A first year, threatening me?"  
  
"I'm not a first year!" Marie shrieked. She shouted something, and there was a  
  
huge crash. Malfoy tumbled out into the hall. Giving Marie a look of pure hatred, he  
  
stomped away. Marie put her wand away.  
  
Even Hermione looked confused, and she asked, "What spell was that?"  
  
"Just something I learned at my old school."  
  
"What year are you?" Harry asked. Marie was very short, with light brown hair,  
  
and a shock of freckles on her face. She looked hardly older than twelve. But she shocked  
  
them all again when she responded, "I'm fifteen, just like you guys. I'm a fifth year, too."  
  
Ron was staring at Marie, not even blinking.  
  
"Did you see that?" he muttered. "Did you see what the crazy wench did to  
  
Malfoy?"  
  
Marie turned on him, snapping, "And another thing. I won't tolerate sexism! I can  
  
do anything a guy can do, just as well! Maybe better! I hear any sexist comments outta  
  
anybody, and I'll do what I did to Malfoy!"  
  
She turned to Hermione. "Cover me."  
  
"What?" Hermione was confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Malfoy will be back," Marie said. "I gotta change into my robes. Cover me. You  
  
know, guard me from behind while I walk to the bathroom."  
  
Hermione did that. Luckily, they ran into no trouble. The train ride seemed to take  
  
less time than usual. Before they knew it, they were pulling into the Hogwarts station. 


	2. The first day

~Yo, I just wanna say, I've only got one review on this story! *sob* Please, please, PLEASE review!!!!!! I enjoy getting reviews, it lets me know people are actually reading my story. I don't want to be posting for nothing. Thanks a bunch to Elf Cowgirl! You've reviewed about every single chapter in every single one of my stories! Also, mucho thanks to TC!!!!! And Erin, too!!!!! Please review!~  
  
Marie sat between Seamus Finnigan and Ron, with Hermione and Harry across  
  
the table from her. She'd been sorted into Gryffindor. Nobody noticed. She was so small,  
  
everyone else just took her for a first year. She smiled a bit, imagining the looks on their  
  
faces when she turned up in class with the fifth years the next day.  
  
Marie didn't eat much at all. Instead, she stared with wide eyes at everything  
  
around her. She kept nudging Ron and asking him questions, mostly, "Who's that?" and  
  
"What's that?" or "Tell me about this!"  
  
"Eat something," Hermione encouraged. "We start classes tomorrow, you need  
  
your strength."  
  
"I'm not hungry," Marie said distractedly. She pointed to one of the ghosts and  
  
asked, "Who's that?"  
  
"The Bloody Baron," Harry told her.  
  
"Why's he all bloody?" she asked. He shrugged. It was difficult to hold a  
  
conversation with her. She was constantly distracted, twisting around to see something  
  
else or ask questions about stuff.  
  
"What's so great about Hogwarts?" Ron asked as she went to ask him something  
  
else. "I mean, it can't be THAT different from your old school."  
  
"You have no idea," Marie said. "My old school was really small, and definitely  
  
not this fancy."  
  
"Not fancy how?" Hermione asked curiously. Marie pushed aside the plate of  
  
chicken Ron offered her. Hermione leaned forward eagerly.  
  
"Well, our uniforms weren't anything like this," Marie began. "It was pretty much  
  
just a T-shirt that said which house you were in. And, the grounds were a lot smaller.  
  
But we had the best Quidditch pitch in the world! It was way out in the middle of an open  
  
field, and all you could see was the sky when you looked up. It was the best! I was the  
  
only girl on our house team. As a matter of fact, I was the only girl on ANY of the teams.  
  
The school was kind of old-fashioned, I guess, because boys were always favored. Girls  
  
weren't even ALLOWED on Quidditch teams. I was an exception, because we didn't  
  
have a Keeper last year. There weren't any female teachers there, and I was one of the  
  
only girls attending. It wasn't fair at all, I hated it." She gave a miserable sigh. She  
  
glanced up at them, and suddenly became aware that the whole table had been listening to  
  
her tale.  
  
"Mind your own business!" Marie hollered at them. They quickly went back to  
  
eating their dinner and conversed to themselves. Ron noted that most of them were  
  
talking about the funny first year at the end of the table who was telling stories.  
  
"So, is that why you moved?" Harry asked. "Because your old school was so  
  
terrible?"  
  
"No, my dad got transferred." Marie smiled. "But believe me, I was glad for the  
  
change. Now I can play Quidditch and walk down the halls without being stared at like  
  
some kind of freak."  
  
The rest of the table quickly turned away, pretending they hadn't been staring at  
  
her. Marie frowned, and snarled, "I'm gonna curse every single one of you!"  
  
"Tell us more about your family," Hermione put in quickly, not wanting a fight.  
  
"Well, I live with my dad and my little sister," Marie said, immediately forgetting  
  
about threatening the entire Gryffindor house. "My parents were never married. My dad  
  
got custody of me when I was born. They had a big fight, and now they hate each other, I  
  
guess. I've never really met her, but my dad hates to talk about her."  
  
"What about your sister?" Ron asked. Marie smiled and said, "She's four. She's  
  
the most adorable thing in the world! She loves me, I'm her idol. She's SO smart, and she  
  
loves to read, just like me! She started talking really early, too, just like I did. Our dad  
  
reads a lot, so we both learned really young. She was sad when I had to go off to school,  
  
but I'm sending her an owl as often as I can, and I'm going down to Hogsmeade, too, and  
  
send her candy and little things she'll like. What do you think she'll like better, chocolate  
  
frogs or…….."  
  
This went on for a while. Marie was obviously very fond of her sister. They  
  
imagined that it must have been quite painful for Marie to leave Angel (that was her  
  
sister's name) behind. From what they heard, she had looked after her sister from the  
  
very beginning.  
  
Ron looked confused. "But, if your dad hates your mom, then how do you have a  
  
little sister at all, especially if she's so much younger than you?"  
  
Marie shoved the plate of mashed potatoes back at Seamus, insisting that she  
  
wasn't hungry. "Well, Angel isn't actually my sister. She's my half-sister. My dad used  
  
to be married. I was about eight when he married Angel's mom. But they got divorced,  
  
just a while after Angel was born, and my dad got custody."  
  
"Wow, that's really interesting." Hermione had been listening with wide eyes the  
  
whole time.  
  
"You've got a funny accent," Parvati Patil stated. Marie looked Parvati over, then  
  
made a face and said, for the whole table to hear, "I don't have an accent! It's all of YOU  
  
who got the accents!"  
  
Parvati rolled her eyes and went back to conversing with her friends.  
  
Marie yawned a bit and asked when they were allowed to sleep. Just then,  
  
Professor Dumbledore told everyone to get back to their dormitories.  
  
"Thank goodness," Marie muttered to Hermione, who she was getting to be quite  
  
good friends with, "or I might have fallen asleep right on my plate."  
  
"Your EMPTY plate," Ron pointed out. "You didn't eat a bite!"  
  
"Excuse me, I wasn't talking to you! Besides, I wasn't hungry."  
  
"Hungry or not, eating is necessary to prevent starvation!" Ron cried. He and  
  
Marie argued this way all the way into the Gryffindor common room and right up to the  
  
dormitories. They finished with them both shouting, "FINE!" and slamming the doors at  
  
the same time.  
  
"I'm glad to see that you and Ron are such good friends," Hermione commented  
  
sarcastically, climbing into her bed. Marie crawled into her own bed and stated, "He  
  
started it. If he wasn't so worried about me starving myself, this wouldn't have happened.  
  
Is it my fault I wasn't hungry?"  
  
Hermione was about to answer, but a snore told her that Marie was asleep.  
  
Marie sat down next to Hermione at breakfast the next day, blinking sleepily,  
  
obviously not fully awake. Ron offered her a piece of toast. She shook her head no and  
  
said, "I'm not hungry."  
  
Ron's eyes got really big and he cried, "See?! You're doing it AGAIN! What, are you  
  
anorexic or something? You don't eat!"  
  
"No I don't, when I'm not hungry," Marie said grumpily. "I never eat in the  
  
morning." Harry nearly laughed at the look on Ron's face. But he could understand  
  
where Ron was coming from. If you were from a not-so-wealthy family, if there was food  
  
you ate it.  
  
Hermione looked Marie over, and had to suppress a giggle. Marie's hair was  
  
standing on end. She looked extremely sleepy, and though she wore her robes, Hermione  
  
could see that Marie had forgotten shoes. She was barefoot. Hermione was about to point  
  
this out, but Marie said, "Yeah, I know. I never wear shoes if I can help it."  
  
"You may need them," Harry said, "depending on what Hagrid has in store for us  
  
in Care of Magical Creatures."  
  
They had received their schedules. Marie had every class with Harry, Hermione,  
  
and Ron, except that she had Divination with Harry and Ron. Hermione was not taking  
  
that class.  
  
Marie jumped in surprise as a screech announced the arrival of the mail. Her eyes  
  
got very wide at the sight of hundreds of owls streaming into the room.  
  
"What's happening?!" she cried. Ron rolled his eyes and muttered, "It's just the  
  
mail. Didn't you get mail at your old school?"  
  
"Yeah, but hardly anybody had an owl! Besides, any letters went right to the  
  
teachers, who passed them out to us later."  
  
A barn owl landed on Marie's plate, dropped an envelope in her lap. Marie cried,  
  
"Hi Butterscotch!"  
  
"Butterscotch?" Harry asked in surprise.  
  
"Hey, I'm weird," Marie said simply. "Besides, Angel named her, not me. Look,  
  
she sent me a letter!"  
  
"Dear Marie,  
  
I miss you. I wish I was at the shcool so I could be with you.  
  
Daddy says you'll be home at Crismas. I hope so, becase I cant wait to see  
  
you. Dont tell Daddy I rote you a letter becase he siad I wasnt suposed  
  
to. Dont ferget to send me a present from Hosmeed like you sed you  
  
wood. I love you! Come home soon.  
  
Love,  
  
Angel."  
  
Marie read the letter out loud. "Isn't it cute?!"  
  
"She can't spell very well," Ron pointed out.  
  
"Insult my sister again and it'll be your last," Marie snapped. "Anyway, cut her  
  
some slack. She's only four."  
  
"She wrote that all on her own?" Hermione asked, suddenly very interested. "And  
  
she's only FOUR?"  
  
"Yeah," Marie stated proudly. "I told you she was smart."  
  
She flipped the letter over and began to write back.  
  
"Dear Angel,  
  
I won't tell Dad you wrote to me. I  
  
won't forget your present from Hogsmeade. I  
  
am not sure if I am coming home for  
  
Christmas, but I hope that I can. I miss you,  
  
too! I've made some new friends over here, and  
  
I've told them all about my favorite sister back  
  
home. I'm sending you a letter every day, and  
  
I want to hear all about 'Hogwarts, A History.'  
  
If I buy any books in Hogsmeade, I'll send them  
  
right to you. I love you and I miss you very  
  
much!  
  
Your big sis,  
  
Marie."  
  
Harry watched Marie write her letter, and asked, "She's reading 'Hogwarts, A  
  
History'?"  
  
"Yeah. So?"  
  
"That's a bit advanced for a four-year-old, isn't it?"  
  
"Like I said, she's really smart. She wanted to know all about where I'm going, so  
  
I gave her my copy. You got a problem with that?" Marie frowned at him. Harry, not  
  
wanting a fight, held up his hands and said, "No, no problem. Just curious."  
  
"Curiosity killed the cat," Marie stated as she reattached the letter to  
  
Butterscotch's leg and watched him fly away. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in  
  
amazement at her.  
  
"She was plenty curious yesterday," Ron muttered. "She should be dead by now."  
  
Harry was thinking the same thing, except that he wasn't wishing death upon  
  
Marie. He decided that with her around, it was going to be a pretty weird school year. 


	3. Divination

~Okay, I am reading the fifth book now, and there are a couple teeny mistakes in my previous chapters. First, I didn't mention Luna Lovegood at all. Don't worry, she'll come up later. Second, Ron and Hermione have been made prefects. I also didn't mention anything Harry, Ron, Hermione, and everyone else did over the summer. But this story is following Marie a lot more than the others. Of course, the Order will come up. Marie will (eventually) be clued in to what is happening. From now on, I'll be following the book. Thanks, y'all!~  
  
Ron and Hermione were bickering again when they sat down for lunch. Cho  
  
Chang had made an attempt to talk to Harry, until Ron sent a barrage of questions about  
  
her Quidditch team at her. Harry finally got sick of it, stood up, and hollered at them to  
  
shut up and stop fighting. He proceeded to stomp off and leave Ron and Hermione to sit  
  
with their mouths hanging open at Harry's sudden outburst.  
  
"I'll be back," Marie said quickly, going after Harry.  
  
"Yeesh," she said, catching up to Harry, who threw himself down beneath a tree  
  
near the lake. "Don't those two ever stop fighting?"  
  
Harry shook his head, looking either furious or astonished. Marie wasn't sure,  
  
but she finally decided that he must be astonished, judging from the way his eyes were  
  
bugging out.  
  
"You can still talk to Cho, you know," Marie informed him, leaning on the tree  
  
and inspecting her fingernails.  
  
"Yeah? How?" He asked miserably.  
  
"Sheesh! You'd think girls were complete idiots or something! I have  
  
connections," Marie grouched. 'Bad moods sure can spread,' she thought to herself.  
  
"Connections? I thought you hated everybody."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Then how can you have connections?"  
  
"Well, okay so not exactly connections. But Cho obviously wants to talk to you.  
  
If she sees me hanging around with you, she'll probably want to talk to me."  
  
"But why you? I thought she wanted to talk to me."  
  
"I can talk to her and arrange some time for you to talk to her in private!" Marie  
  
screeched, aggravated. "Sheesh!"  
  
Harry muttered a quick, "Thanks, I guess," and silence followed. It was broken by  
  
Marie clearing her throat.  
  
"Harry?" she asked nervously. He didn't say anything. She went on. "Can I ask  
  
you a question?"  
  
"Go on," he muttered. She bit her lip for a second, and then asked, "Is it true,  
  
what all the papers are saying about you? That you said Lord Voldemort had returned?"  
  
Harry whipped around and glared at her. "I thought you hadn't been here long."  
  
"Two weeks before the train left for Hogwarts. Yeesh! I was only asking a  
  
question! Besides, you're not big news only in England. There's wizard newspapers in  
  
America, too. And you can't possibly think that Voldemort terrorized just England. Heck,  
  
my best friend's parents back home are Aurors, they helped catch a boatload of Death  
  
Eaters!"  
  
"You said Voldemort's name!"  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"I just thought, you know-"  
  
"No. I'm not a sissy who can't even say his name. Anyway, are you gonna answer  
  
my question or not?"  
  
Harry took a deep breath, thought for a split second, then told her everything.  
  
The Triwizard Tournament, Cedric's death, Volemort's return, the Order of the Phoenix,  
  
and every small detail about the summer. When he finished, Marie's face was white.  
  
"So…..he's really back, isn't he?"  
  
"Yes, he is."  
  
"And Sirius Black, he's really not guilty of those murders? He's really your  
  
godfather?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Fred and George really invented Extendable Ears and Skiving Snackboxes?"  
  
"What does that have to do with Voldemort?!"  
  
"Yeesh! I was just wondering!"  
  
The bell rang, and Harry and Marie gathered up their stuff and headed toward  
  
their Divination class.  
  
"Beware of Professor Trelawny," Harry muttered before plopping down in a far  
  
corner so as not to be seen by Ron, who had just entered. He was spotted anyway.  
  
Marie's thoughts wandered while Harry and Ron talked, interrupted when  
  
Professor Trelawney began to speak to the class, finishing by telling them what to read in  
  
the new book, The Dream Oracle, and then to split into pairs to begin interpreting  
  
dreams. Marie finished reading in no time, and ended up partnering with Lavender  
  
Brown. This turned out to be a mistake.  
  
"Hanging around with Potter, I see?" Lavender hissed so that Professor  
  
Trelawney couldn't hear her.  
  
"Yes I am," Marie snarled back. "What are you gonna do about it?"  
  
"Potter's a liar."  
  
"Insult my friend again and it'll be your last."  
  
"He says he saw Cedric Diggory killed."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"He says You-Know-Who is back."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"He even says he dueled with You-Know-Who."  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
"Make me!"  
  
Without warning, Marie yanked out her wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"  
  
Lavender landed on the other side of the room, and the entire class turned to stare  
  
at Marie. Of course, Professor Trelawney sprang up from her chair, and rushed to help  
  
Lavender. She was shrieking about attacking another student, and something about  
  
reporting it to Dumbledore.  
  
"Yes, that's an excellent idea," Marie told her. The whole class, who had been  
  
whispering to each other for the past few minutes, fell entirely silent.  
  
"What is everyone staring at?" Marie demanded. "She has the right to report me! I  
  
broke the rules! I deserve any punishment I get! I shouldn't have lost my temper. But  
  
then, Lavender also deserved what she got. Still, what I did was wrong. I'll tell you what,  
  
Professor. Why don't I just report myself to Professor McGonagall."  
  
Without waiting for a reply, Marie marched out the trapdoor and disappeared. The  
  
class, seemingly stunned into silence, just sat staring at each other for nearly a full minute  
  
before Marie's head suddenly popped back into the room, cried, "By the way, I believe  
  
every word Harry says about Voldemort's return!" and left again.  
  
Marie did indeed report herself to McGonagall. Going down to Defense Against  
  
The Dark Arts, Harry and Ron could hear shouting from McGonagall's office.  
  
"-USING MAGIC AGAINST A FELLOW STUDENT, I NEVER-"  
  
Marie's response was calm, as if she was not fazed by McGonagall's shouting in  
  
the least. "Professor, she was calling Harry a liar. I don't tolerate people insulting my  
  
friends."  
  
"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER!"  
  
"It was only a disarming spell. Besides, the rules say that magic isn't supposed to  
  
be used between classes. They don't say anything about using magic against another  
  
student in class."  
  
"We don't expect students to disarm each other in class!"  
  
"But I haven't broken any rules."  
  
"No, that's true. You haven't, so there's not much I can do………but I don't care  
  
if it's in class or not, if this happens again, you shall be severely punished!"  
  
"Yes, Professor. I understand."  
  
Professor McGonagall must have been incredibly shocked, because not a word  
  
was spoken as Marie walked out the door. Harry and Ron glanced at each other  
  
nervously, suddenly aware that they had been listening in.  
  
"Hey guys!" Marie said cheerfully upon seeing them.  
  
"You have got to be the weirdest kid in the world," Ron told her, shaking his  
  
head. "There is no hope for you."  
  
Marie looked positively flattered.  
  
"Yep, ya really blew it, Harry," Marie informed him later. They were back in the  
  
common room, doing their homework. Actually, Hermione was doing her homework.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Marie were copying off of her.  
  
Harry frowned in Marie's direction, and she held her hands up. "I'm not blaming  
  
you! I would've done the same thing in your position! But maybe ya went just a touch  
  
too far."  
  
"She called me a liar in front of the whole class! And besides, she's a terrible old  
  
hag!"  
  
"Yeah, but yelling at a teacher! That's just too much! You should've quit, before  
  
you yelled at her."  
  
"And let her get away with calling me a liar?!"  
  
"She got away with it anyway, didn't she? I knew something like this would  
  
happen. I tried to tell you!"  
  
Harry just shook his head and started to pick up his stuff. A week of detention  
  
with Professor Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, wasn't what  
  
he had in mind when he walked into the classroom. But then, Marie was probably right.  
  
What else could he expect when he started screaming at her about Voldemort's return?  
  
"I'll be back later," he mumbled, leaving for his detention.  
  
Marie was lost in thought for a minute, then automatically reached into her  
  
backpack and pulled out an old, framed, black and white photo of a woman probably in  
  
her thirties. Hermione suspected that it was habit, because Marie didn't seem to notice  
  
when she held the photo. She continued to stare at her homework, puzzling over a  
  
question.  
  
"Who's that?" Ron demanded, seeing the picture in Marie's hands. Marie looked  
  
at the picture, startled to find herself holding it.  
  
"It's my great-grandma Marie," she told him. "I'm named after her."  
  
"You look just like her!" Ron cried. Despite the difference in age, the  
  
resemblance between Marie and her great-grandmother was quite obvious. Marie smiled  
  
and stated, "Everyone says that."  
  
"But it's true!"  
  
"I know." She sounded a bit exasperated, like someone speaking to a small child  
  
that just wouldn't sit still. But then she smiled again and explained, "This is the only  
  
picture of her I have. My dad hid all the other ones. I found it in a drawer when I was  
  
really little. My dad doesn't know I have it."  
  
"Why did you steal it?" Ron wanted to know. Marie shrugged.  
  
"At the time, it wasn't stealing. I knew my dad didn't want it, otherwise he  
  
wouldn't have hidden it. I didn't know who she was. But she looked so much like me that  
  
I knew she had to be related. It wasn't until I was eight or nine that I found out who she  
  
actually was."  
  
"How did you find out who she was?" Ron's eyes were wide as he took in  
  
everything Marie said.  
  
"My dad told me a story about his grandma once, and right then I knew that's  
  
who the lady in the picture was."  
  
"Well, why did you keep it?"  
  
"If you think Great-Grandma Marie looks like me, you should see how much she  
  
looks like Angel. I kept it for a couple of reasons. First of all, before Angel was born I  
  
just got attached to the picture. I always had it with me, hidden so my dad didn't see it.  
  
Second, once Angel was born, I kept the picture to remind me of Angel when she wasn't  
  
there."  
  
"Did you ever meet her? Your great-grandmother?"  
  
"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "What do you think?!"  
  
"In a sense, yes," Marie went on, as if Hermione hadn't spoken. "She died seven  
  
years before I was born. She's buried in a cemetery a few blocks from our old house. My  
  
dad never said anything about it. Talking about her was too painful for him. He was  
  
really attached to her. I found her grave myself. I go and see her and bring her flowers  
  
every now and then. And her twin daughers, Alice and Leigh."  
  
Ron's eyes opened even wider. "She has twin daughters?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But you said-"  
  
"They died at birth."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"If I hadn't been wandering around one day, I wouldn't even have know they  
  
were there. Their gravestone is small and was covered with weeds. And all it says is 'The  
  
twin daughters of Marie Siller.'"  
  
"So how do you know their names are Alice and Leigh if the gravestone doesn't  
  
say their names?"  
  
Marie stopped, seeming astonished by the question. She scratched her head and  
  
thought, and finally said, "I really don't know. I just know things, I don't know how, but I  
  
do."  
  
"What sort of things do you just know?" Ron asked, looking not sure whether he  
  
believed her or not.  
  
"For instance," Marie said, "Harry is about to enter the common room."  
  
A few seconds later, the portrait swung open and Harry walked in, looking furious  
  
and exhausted at the same time.  
  
"You are going to ace Divination," Ron told Marie with certainty. Marie ignored  
  
Ron and tossed a band-aid at Harry, who was obviously in a terrible mood.  
  
"Your hand is bleeding," she told him, and went back to work on her homework.  
  
That evening as Marie lay in bed, she thought about her great- grandmother and  
  
what she had told Ron and Hermione. Actually, she hadn't given them the whole story.  
  
She had been four years old when she found the photo, and nine when she found her  
  
great-grandmother's grave. Of course, when she first found the picture, she had no idea  
  
who the woman was. Like she had said, even though she was young she could see the  
  
resemblance. Until she found out that the lady was actually her great- grandmother, Marie  
  
enjoyed the belief that possibly the woman was her mother. She was pretty, and young in  
  
the photo. She looked so kind. Often Marie would make-believe that the woman would  
  
just leap out of the picture frame and become the mother that she really needed. Even  
  
after she discovered who the lady was, she still somewhat clung to the idea, maybe just to  
  
reassure herself. She had not been lying, Angel also looked very much like her  
  
great-grandma. Marie had grown up believing in miracles, and she looked upon Angel as  
  
a miracle created especially for her. And she had to admit, Angel had got her through  
  
some tough times. Some really tough times. Just the smile on her little face when she saw  
  
her hero, her idol, her older sister…….that was enough to make you forget anything bad,  
  
and you couldn't help but smile back.  
  
Marie felt a bit guilty at the thought of her sister. She hadn't been writing as  
  
frequently as she had promised. She'd had a lot of homework, especially since this was  
  
O.W.L. year. The big tests weren't until the end of the year, but the teachers were already  
  
handing out mountains of homework.  
  
Well, she told herself, she'd buy something extra-special for Angel when she  
  
went to Hogsmeade, to try and make up for it. She took out the picture of her  
  
great-grandmother, and another one of Angel and her. She fell asleep holding them. 


	4. Detention with Umbridge

~Hey, sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I was on vacation. It gave me more time to write, but I did not have access to a computer. Thanks for being patient. Luv ya all!~  
  
Harry was once again in a bad mood as he stomped off to detention on Thursday.  
  
The previous three nights of detention seemed to be wearing on his nerves. He tended to  
  
snap at people, and Ron, Hermione, and Marie discovered it was better to leave him  
  
alone.  
  
Ron and Marie were finishing their dream diaries, assigned as homework by  
  
Professor Trelawney.  
  
"Let's see, I didn't record a dream for yesterday..." Marie nudged Ron. "Hey,  
  
help me think of something."  
  
"I'm trying to do my own work here!"  
  
"Okay then, if I just put I dreamed I murdered you-"  
  
"Oh, no! She'll see that as some sort of death omen. She's done enough predicting  
  
Harry's untimely demise, I don't need her predicting mine, too!"  
  
Marie laughed. "A death omen? Dang, she's really wacked out, huh?"  
  
Hermione, listening to the bickering, noted that Marie had not for a second  
  
dropped her American accent, and was still using phrases that she picked up "back  
  
home." Hermione wasn't sure why, but it hurt her feelings a bit that Marie didn't think of  
  
England as her home. But then, Marie had been raised in America for fifteen years,  
  
moving to an entirely different country had to be difficult for her.  
  
The argument between Marie and Ron ended quite suddenly, with Marie writing  
  
down some bogus dream about vampire bats, then clearing her throat and saying, "Hey  
  
Ron, I need help with some stuff. Can you come with me?"  
  
They both exited the common room quickly, leaving Hermione wondering what  
  
in the world they were up to.  
  
Marie and Ron were sneaking back to the Gryffindor common room around  
  
midnight that night when they saw Harry returning from his detention. They tried to hide  
  
behind a statue, but Harry saw them and approached, wanting to know what they were up  
  
to. He looked even more suspicious when he saw them trying to hide broomsticks, Ron a  
  
Cleansweep Eleven and Marie a Nimbus Two Thousand and One.  
  
"Nothing," Ron lied. Harry frowned and said, "C'mon, you can tell me. Why are  
  
you hiding?"  
  
"Fred and George," Ron told him. This was another lie. "They're still testing their  
  
Skiving Snackboxes on first years, and they can't do it in the common room with  
  
Hermione after them."  
  
"Then how come you have your broom with you?" Harry raised an eyebrow. Ron  
  
went red, and even Marie seemed at a loss for words. Finally, she said, "Promise you  
  
won't laugh?"  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Well, we're both going to try out for Gryffindor Keeper. We've been practicing  
  
together since Tuesday. We figure we can help each other out, and maybe one of us will  
  
make it," she whispered, looking at the floor, her face a deep shade of red. She and Ron  
  
both expected Harry to burst out laughing. When he didn't, they looked shocked.  
  
"That's awesome!" Harry cried, obviously pleased. Ron's face broke into a huge  
  
smile, as did Marie's. The smiles faded, however, when Marie pointed to Harry's hand  
  
and asked, "What's that?"  
  
"Yeah, I thought you were doing lines!" Ron said, grabbing Harry's arm and  
  
inspecting the words carved into the back of his hand.  
  
"'I must not tell lies,'" Marie read off his hand, a disgusted look on her face.  
  
Harry hesitated, then told them about his detentions. Professor Umbridge had him  
  
write with a quill that carved the words he wrote into the back of his hand. When he  
  
finished his tale, Ron looked disgusted and Marie looked ready to kill something. A  
  
stream of curses left her, so loud that Ron clapped his hand over her mouth for fear that a  
  
teacher would hear and come and find them.  
  
"Go to McGonagall," Ron told Harry as Marie shoved his hand aside and glared  
  
at him.  
  
"No," Harry said immediately. "I'm not going to give her the satisfaction."  
  
"Forget reporting it to McGonagall, I'm gonna kill Umbridge with my bare  
  
hands!" Marie snarled, shoving past Ron. But he grabbed her arm and pulled her back,  
  
saying, "Don't get yourself in more trouble."  
  
Marie crossed her arms and sulked.  
  
Ron turned back to Harry and said, "Tell Dumbledore, then."  
  
"No. He's got enough on his mind already," Harry refused. They made their way  
  
back to the common room, still debating over who Harry should tell about Umbridge.  
  
~Hey, severe writer's block lately! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. Wow, six reviews in one day! Not just on this story, on my other two as well. I had no idea so many people read my story! I nearly fainted! Thank you all!~ 


	5. Muggleborn?

~Hey guys, I know it's been taking me forever to update! I have had the worst case of writer's block! Anyways, here goes!~  
  
Ginny found Marie sitting in the common room with a gigantic book in her hands.  
  
It was late. Nearly two in the morning. The fire was dying, and Marie had lit a candle.  
  
She turned a page of her book, but didn't seem to be reading it. Instead, she was gazing  
  
into the glowing coals in the fireplace. Ginny approached her timidly.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked softly. Marie didn't move a muscle. After a few  
  
seconds pause, she murmured, "Yes, I'm fine."  
  
"Why are you down here?" Ginny asked, suddenly suspicious. Marie just  
  
shrugged and muttered, "I couldn't sleep. Why are you here? Ron would be really mad if  
  
he knew you were up so late."  
  
"I heard a noise. I guess it was just you. I'll leave you alone, then." Ginny turned  
  
to leave. As she was going upstairs, she saw a piece of parchment lying on the ground.  
  
Without thinking, she picked it up and opened it, but when she saw what was written on  
  
it she stuffed it in her pocket and left without so much as a backward glance at Marie.  
  
Marie was silent at breakfast the next morning, and hardly argued when Ron  
  
forced her to eat a rasher of bacon. Then she left and did not come back.  
  
"Goodness, what happened to her?" Hermione wondered. Ginny mulled it over  
  
for a minute, then pulled the piece of parchment out of her pocket and handed it to Harry.  
  
"I found it last night."  
  
Harry read it, and his face turned bright red. "Ginny, I don't think Marie would be  
  
very happy if she knew you took this."  
  
"I didn't know it was hers!"  
  
Ron snatched it away from Harry and he, too, read the letter. "Oh! No wonder  
  
Marie is so upset."  
  
Hermione read the note over Ron's shoulder.  
  
"Dear Marie,  
  
I am in the hopsital. I had a asma atack yesterday. Daddy didnt  
  
want to worry you, but I thougt that you would want to know. I am fine.  
  
Dont be worried. I love you.  
  
Angel."  
  
"Oh no! This is awful!" Hermione cried.  
  
"I can't believe she didn't tell us," Ron grouched. Hermione hit him. "What?! I  
  
was just being honest!"  
  
"I think that Marie really needs our support right now," Harry stated. Ron,  
  
Hermione, and Ginny all nodded.  
  
"Let's go and find her," Ginny suggested. They exited the Great Hall in search of  
  
Marie. They didn't have far to look. She had Pansy Parkinson cornered just outside the  
  
doors, waving her wand threateningly and yelling something about her book bag. Harry  
  
had trouble deciding whether to help Pansy or not. But when he managed to make out,  
  
from among the indecipherable shouts coming from Marie, the words "Unforgivable  
  
Curses," he quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her away.  
  
"Hey!" Marie demanded angrily. "What was that for?"  
  
"We need to talk," Harry stated simply. Marie look confused, and asked, "What  
  
about?"  
  
Harry led the group back to the Gryffindor common room. Marie complained and  
  
questioned them the whole way there. Finally, when they were all sitting in armchairs in  
  
front of the fire, Harry pulled the paper from his pocket and handed it to Marie. She  
  
stiffened.  
  
"We're really sorry about what happened to Angel."  
  
"Where did you get this?" she asked.  
  
"I found it on the floor," Ginny admitted timidly. Marie held the paper up so that  
  
all of them could see, and pointed to the upper right corner.  
  
"I see that none of you took the time to check the date," she observed. "See? It's  
  
an old letter. She sent it to me last year, around Christmastime. I wasn't lying when  
  
I said I couldn't sleep, Ginny. I just wasn't tired. I keep all the letters that Angel writes  
  
me in a book. That's what I was reading last night, and I guess this one slipped out."  
  
She laughed at the shocked look on their faces. Ron began to stutter, "But.but  
  
you didn't argue with me when I made you eat breakfast!"  
  
"What was wrong, then?" Hermione wanted to know. Marie shook her head and  
  
said, "It's not important any more."  
  
"No, it's got to be," Ron insisted. Marie frowned.  
  
"It's not," she snapped. Ron made a face at her.  
  
"Don't mind him, he's an idiot," Ginny whispered to Marie. Marie nodded  
  
slightly, but said to Ron, "I'm telling the truth, you know."  
  
"If you were, you'd tell us what it is."  
  
"Why are you so determined to poke your nose into my private lifestyle?!" she  
  
cried.  
  
"Guys-" Harry began, only to be cut off by Ron's angry shout of, "Maybe I just  
  
want to know because I was actually starting to consider you my friend, and that means I  
  
care if something happens to you!"  
  
"I know you care, Ron," Marie sighed, sinking back into her chair. "If you must  
  
know, it's just that my dad might get transferred again."  
  
"What?!" everyone cried at once. They all began hollering at once.  
  
"You can't leave!"  
  
"But you just moved here last month!"  
  
"You couldn't possibly move again!"  
  
"What on earth for?!"  
  
"Where would he go?!"  
  
"Quiet!" Marie said, holding up her hand. "I'm not going to leave! It's not certain  
  
if he'll get transferred or not. And I have no idea where he'd go."  
  
"But I don't understand," Ron muttered. Marie shook her head.  
  
"I don't completely understand it either. I just know that he's- he might be  
  
leaving. I wouldn't go anywhere. It's set that I'm going to finish the rest of my school  
  
here at Hogwarts."  
  
"Then I don't see a problem," Hermione mused.  
  
Marie sighed. "If he got moved again, he'd take Angel with him."  
  
There was silence, broken by Ginny asking, "Where would you go over the  
  
summer, then? I mean, if it's so far away.."  
  
"He wouldn't be able to get me from King's Cross," Marie finished. "I don't  
  
know where I'd go. I wouldn't have anywhere to go. But that's not my biggest issue. I  
  
don't think it would be good for Angel to be moved again." She sighed. "But there's nothing I can do about it. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens."  
Harry nodded, but hoped that Marie's dad did not have to move again. He knew that it would make her miserable if she was separated even more from her sister. Marie shrugged, grabbed her backpack, and shuffled out of the room to their first class.  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Marie made their way to the dungeons for Potions. As they rounded a corner, Marie felt her bag get caught on something and tear, everything spilling onto the floor.  
"Go on ahead of me," she told them. "I'll deal with Professor Snape later."  
She scrambled to pick her things up. She could mend the backpack easily, but if she didn't hurry she would be late. She'd fixed the tear and was stuffing everything back in the bag when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, she saw Malfoy approaching.  
Marie jumped up and prepared to leave, not wanting a fight. But something made her stop. Something was wrong. What was it?  
"Marie Beck," she heard Malfoy drawl softly.  
"Yes?" she asked politely, turning and plastering a smile to her face. He frowned and snapped, "I wasn't talking to you."  
"Yeah, well, the hallway's empty and I don't know of any other Marie Becks in the school," she shot back. Malfoy held up something, and Marie moved closer to get a look at what he had in his hand. It was her picture of her great-grandmother. She reached for it, but he pulled his hand away. Marie scowled at him and demanded, "How do you know I'm named after her?"  
"Much as I may look it, I'm not an idiot," he snapped, shoving past her. She stamped her foot and shouted, "What the hell are you talking about?!"  
"You can't honestly say that you don't know what I'm talking about," he said, turning to face her.  
"I don't know what you're talking about!"  
Malfoy gave her a confused look. "Remember back on the train, when I asked you if you were a Mudblood and you lied and said that you were?"  
"What do you mean, I lied? I have Muggle parents."  
Malfoy waved the picture at Marie and asked, "This woman, she's your..great-grandmother, right?"  
"Yes."  
"Didn't your parents ever tell you that she used to teach Charms, here at Hogwarts, before she died?"  
Marie grabbed the picture back. "You're lying!"  
"Suit yourself. If you go to the trophy room, she won an award or something. Her picture is in there, too."  
"Liar!"  
"Whatever." He started to leave, but turned around and said, "Don't tell anyone about this."  
Marie watched him leave. Once he was gone, she headed for the trophy room. Snape would kill her for skipping class, but she decided that this was more important. True, she did not trust Malfoy, but the way he'd spoken to her made her wonder. Was she really Muggleborn, or could she possibly have a wizard for a father?  
She searched the trophy room, but found no sign of the award Malfoy had mentioned. She was just going out the door when something in the corner caught her eye. It was a plaque, quite small, and obviously very old. She couldn't make out the words on it at all, except for two. "Marie Beck." Under the words was a small, faded picture. She rubbed the dust away and gasped in surprise when she saw her great-grandmother smiling and waving at her. ~Sorry it's not that long, and doesn't relate at all to OOTP. I just decided to throw in a challenge for Marie. The actual story will come back next chapter, I promise! Tell me what you think!~ 


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